John B. Marek

As hard as it is to believe that the year is coming to a close - it feels like just yesterday we were feverishly preparing our growing beds for 2022 - it is even harder to believe that in a few weeks we will begin preparing for our FOURTH summer growing season.  As the year winds down, we will harvest our last major crop of the year, collards, and deliver it to Angels & Sparrows on Monday. Collards are a traditional holiday food in the South, and we are happy to provide A&S with enough to provide a hearty side dish for 150+ meals!   Once the collards are gone, the garden will be empty, save for some lettuce and carrots we are attempting to overwinter in one of the new table beds. We will take a few weeks "off" and then begin preparing for the 2023 season in mid-Febuary. The six-week period between mid-March and the end of April is arguably the busiest and certainly the most intense of the gardening calendar, and we hope some of you will be able to volunteer a few hour

In 1953, a Texas businessman named Ellis Hall disappeared while flying his small plane over the Canadian bush. A search and rescue effort was mounted and eventually located a tangled mess of wreckage protruding from the side of Mount Kologet. However, it quickly became evident to the search team that the wreck was much too large to be Hall's bush plane.  When photos of the site were examined by aviation experts, the plane was identified as a B-36 "Peacemaker" that had been lost during a top-secret training mission three years earlier.  The B-36 was a long-range strategic bomber designed during WWII as a replacement for the B-29; specifically, a replacement capable of bombing Germany from air bases in the United States. By the time the plane came into service, the war in Europe was over, and its six piston-push-engines supplemented with four ramjets were a maintenance nightmare and functionally inferior to rapidly advancing jet-powered aircraft. Still, in the early '50

As economic development director for Anson County, I strongly urge you to vote FOR the Mixed Beverage* Election November 8th. But, more importantly, I encourage you to listen to the voices of the young professionals upon whom the future of the county will depend. If you look closely at the lower right-hand corner of the blue and white signs urging a FOR vote on Mixed Beverages, you will see they are paid for by YP Anson. So what is YP Anson? Is it some political action committee funded by out-of-state alcoholic beverage manufacturers and casino owners? No, it's Young Professionals Anson, an organization made up of and funded entirely by local business people and community members under the age of 40.  They are the bankers, real estate agents, lawyers, shop owners, entrepreneurs, factory managers, and tradespeople who will lead Anson County into the next decade and beyond. Most of them were born and raised here, left to get a college education, and chose to return and raise a family

The styrofoam pumpkin has seen better days, which I suppose isn't surprising since it's more than 20 years old and wasn't made to last more than a handful of All Hallows Eves. To prolong its life, I don't put it out with the other fall decor, waiting instead until a day or two before the big night to plug it in and set it in front of the big planter that hides the porch electric outlet.  It's odd that old Jack o' Lantern has become such a cherished part of our Halloween revelry since it was an impulse-panic buy from a Walmart in a small town I don't think I've been back to since.  I was driving home from a meeting in another part of the state back in my days as a consultant for R.S. Byrnes when I realized it was 4 P.M. on Halloween, and I hadn't bought any treats or a pumpkin to carve. I ducked off the Highway at the next retail center, ran in, and grabbed a couple of bags of candy and just about the only piece of spooky decor left in the store, the

There is a shelf, it's a cubby really, in our walk-in closet where I keep my everyday carry items; watch, change, wallet, pen, pocket knife, keys, etc. Invariably, when I empty my pockets at night, I dump any receipts, ticket stubs, scribbled notes, and candy wrappers I collected during the day onto that same shelf. Typically, I will gather all those up, sort the keepers and dispose of the trash every couple of weeks.  For whatever reason, though, over the past few months, I let the pile grow without culling, and when I took advantage of this rainy weekend past to do some indoor projects, cleaning up that cubby was near the top of the list.  As a general rule, I don't wax rhapsodic about cleaning out my closet, but as I was sorting through the debris, which by the nature of gravity and stacking was in roughly chronological order, I had an opportunity to revisit the highlights of what was a relatively normal summer after a couple of pandemic-induced outliers.    The ticket stub

On my way to get a cup of coffee early Saturday morning, I came across a strange sight along a lonely stretch of rural road. A dead cow was lying in a shallow ditch just a couple of feet off the pavement. Several other cows grazed contentedly on the other side of an intact wire fence, oblivious to the fate of their fallen sister. I wondered what had happened. How did the cow escape the apparently undamaged fencing? How does a cow just drop dead along the side of the road? Do cows have heart attacks? I also wondered if anyone had informed the farmer and whether cows are insured against sudden death. But mostly, I felt bad for the deceased cow. I passed the cow again later in the day. No one had made any obvious attempt to move it, and it occurred to me that a full-grown cow must weigh over a thousand pounds and would most likely require a front-end loader to lift it out of that ditch and onto a flatbed truck for a trip to the landfill or the rendering plant. I was up in that neck of the

I received a Science Fair 20-in-1 Electronics Project kit for Christmas one year in my early teens. It consisted of 15 "blocks," each with a component like a transistor or a diode that could be wired together to create projects like an oscilloscope, rain alarm, or diode radio. One of the blocks was a solar cell about the size of a postage stamp. It produced very little power, even in direct sunlight, but it did demonstrate that electricity could be generated directly from the sun, a technology that was getting a lot of publicity in the early '70s. The mass market "technical" magazines of the day, Popular Mechanics and Popular Science, featured articles about the exciting future of solar energy while acknowledging several hurdles to overcome before it ever became a mainstream power source. Those publications were sure, however, that advances in photovoltaic (PV) cells and electric storage would make solar energy ubiquitous by the turn of the century. In some ways

A couple of weeks ago, I related a story about my experience in a college accounting class. Accounting wasn't the only business class I took that quarter, though. I also had Introduction To Management. It was not a challenging class, and the textbook was unintentionally humorous at times, beginning with the very first paragraph: So you want to be a manager. Or do you? Actually, I very much wanted to be a manager. I wanted to be in charge, to run things, to be respected for my business acumen. Needless to say, that delusion lasted about ten minutes in the real world, and I quickly came to understand the "or do you?" part.  My first job after college was as an assistant department manager with the BEST Products retail chain. I worked under a department manager named Molly. Molly had a very distinctive personality and management style. In her early 30s, she exuded an air of detachment, as though she couldn't quite believe this was what her life had come to. On the other

Back in July, I went to a baseball game. The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers played the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis. The Woodpeckers are a relatively new team, and I recall reading the press release a couple of years ago that unveiled the team name, colors, and logo. My response was, meh. The Woodpecker's name and logo are perfectly adequate, but nothing special, in my opinion. The press release noted that woodpeckers are native to the Fayetteville area, and while I'm sure that's true, they are also native to about 99% of North America. I had a better name in mind. The Venus flytrap is found almost exclusively in the Cape Fear watershed from Cumberland County, where Fayetteville is located, to Brunswick County on the coast. Not only is this well-known plant a distinctive feature of the area, but the name "flytrap" or "flycatcher" also has intriguing baseball implications, making it a perfect team name. And the plant's c

I saw a news story the other day about a woman who lost her remote-work job for installing a "jiggler" app on her company laptop. The headline read something like "Tech Worker Fired for Illicit Jiggling." I wasn't familiar with the jiggling app, but I assumed it must be something like Uber or Doordash, except catering to those who need to jiggle but don't have time to do it themselves. It turns out I was waaaaay off on that.  Jiggler apps are software that moves your mouse pointer in random directions, giving anyone monitoring your computer the impression you are hard at work when you are actually using the bathroom, getting a drink, or walking the dog. In the comments under the story, several people noted it was pretty stupid of her to install the app because tech companies closely monitor their networks, and unapproved software immediately raises a flag. They claimed it would have been wiser to use a mechanical jiggler. My next step, obviously, was to chec

Fall is a great time to introduce Square Foot Gardening in your community. With kids back in school and vacations wrapping up, people are in learning mode. Summer is winding down, and whether spurred on by inflation, supply chain issues, or just wishing for fresh, chemical-free produce, folks want to know more about how to grow vegetables. John is currently booking Fall speaking engagements with libraries, community centers, church groups, and adult ed programs. There is no cost for the hour presentation, but John does request mileage reimbursement for programs more than 50 miles from Huntersville. Email johnbmarek@gmail.com for details or to schedule your program.

A grocery store near my house employs a man with a medical condition similar to that which afflicted Stephen Hawking. He uses a motorized wheelchair, is unable to move much more than his fingers, and is unable to speak. He is typically positioned near the entrance, at a table with product samples, and invites everyone entering the store to try one in his computer-generated voice. Many businesses employ persons with physical or developmental issues, and we should commend them for that, but it feels like this store is going above and beyond. Such compassion comes at a price, though. A second employee is stationed nearby to replenish the samples and make sure nothing goes wrong. The store is paying two employees to do a task that is not strictly essential to begin with.  I know there are grants available for businesses who hire people with impairments and that there is likely a positive word-of-mouth "marketing" aspect to such a hire. Still, it is doubtful this was a business de

In July of 1980, I received an invitation in the mail. It was from someone named Rod Smith, who introduced himself as my residence hall advisor for the upcoming fall quarter at Ohio University. He invited me to a "small get-together" at his house in Perrysburg for the incoming first-year students on his floor. I'll give Rod credit for trying, but I was the only person on that floor within reasonable driving distance, and I wasn't going to miss a night of work to attend his party. In retrospect, that might have been shortsighted of me. Except for a couple of high-school buddies who roomed together, no one on the first floor of James Hall that September had met or even communicated with anyone else until we showed up a day or two before classes. Apparently, that's not how it's done these days. I stumbled across a lengthy article from the Ohio University student newspaper, The Post, detailing how to go about selecting and vetting a roommate through social media.

Is your faith-based organization interested in learning more about how community agriculture outreach can enhance your mission? I am currently booking speaking engagements for the summer and early fall in which I share my experiences starting and growing a faith-based community garden that provides fresh produce for our local soup kitchen.  The 30-minute program is a general introduction that includes the reasons, methods, costs, and next steps for launching a community agriculture ministry. The 90-minute program offers a more detailed look at those next steps, tips for securing grant funding, and the Biblical reasoning behind community agriculture. Both programs are free ( I respectfully request travel cost reimbursement for programs delivered more than 50 miles from my home base in Huntersville, North Carolina) and can be "freestanding" or integrated into your board, missions, or ministry meeting.

My new book, Such Is Life in Vacationland , is now available as a paperback or an ebook from Amazon. It is a collection of selected "Field Notes" columns and new content related to my formative years growing up on the Lake Erie coast of Ohio.  The book is FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers and priced at $12 for the paperback and $6 for the ebook. A preview of the first three chapters is also available.   

Our first-ever Moravian Barn Raising was a big success! It was probably never realistic to get it finished on Saturday, so we took a more experiential approach teaching the kids some fundamentals of construction and safety. A smaller group came out later in the week and finished the primary construction. There’s still some finish work to do and it needs to be stained and roofed, but I am pretty happy with how everything ultimately turned out.

Yesterday evening, I spoke to a group of community volunteers at the Holla Center in Morven about launching a community garden. In addition to serving as the county’s economic developer, I am a certified gardening instructor and volunteer manager of the New Beginnings Moravian Garden in Huntersville. I will be helping the Morven volunteers get their project off the ground, starting with a load of compost next week.

It is common to see semi-trailers emblazoned with "Atlantic Packaging" chugging down U.S. 74 through Wadesboro. But I was under a misconception about these trucks until just last week.  In 1994, as my wife and I were beginning to seriously consider moving to North Carolina, I acquired a list of Charlotte-area businesses from the Chamber of Commerce and sent out a couple of dozen letters along with my resume to gauge potential employment opportunities. The companies I solicited were large and involved in industries I thought would be interesting. It's important to remember that the internet was in its infancy in the mid-'90s. There was no Indeed or Zip Recruiter, or even LinkedIn. The generally accepted way to get your name out there in a city far from home was to send a nice resume package to companies, more or less at random.  One of the companies on my interest list was Atlantic Envelope. Most people probably wonder why an envelope company would interest me; it'

On February 15, 1978, Leon Spinks shocked the sports world, beating defending heavyweight boxing champion Mohammed Ali in a nationally-televised fight. Although Ali was entering the twilight of his career and Spinks had won the gold medal at the 1976 Olympics, no one gave the young fighter much of a chance against the man considered "The Greatest." Most saw it as a warm-up fight for Ali as he prepared to take on the top-ranked contender, Ken Norton. So, it was perhaps a little surprising that more than one-third (34.4 TV rating) of Americans tuned in to CBS to watch the contest. Our household was one of those, even though none of us was a huge boxing fan. Just a few days earlier, though, my whole family, along with millions of others in the Midwest, had spent nearly a week trapped in our house without electricity due to the Blizzard of '78; millions suffering from a bad case of cabin fever and desperately needing the distraction.   In the early days of the COVID pandemic

On Sunday, the Yale Bulldogs defeated the Princeton Tigers to win the Ivy League basketball tournament and secure their berth in the “Big Dance.” The team proudly donned their brand new Ivy League Champions T-shirts, cut down the nets and posed for media photos. There was only one teensy problem; the shirts were misprinted, badly misprinted. Instead of Yale Bulldogs, they touted the champion Yale Bulldgods. You might say it’s a little bit of an embarrassment for one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country to misspell its nickname, but of course, the school had nothing to do with the mistake. I am guessing some quick print shop got the late-night order at the end of the semifinal round and was tasked with producing a couple of dozen champions shirts for both Princeton and Yale. It’s surprising that such an obvious error could slip through, but I know from personal experience it’s tough to proofread your own work because you KNOW what you meant to say.   The Yale gaf

If you have never heard the name Anna Delvey, congratulations. Save yourself the trouble and stop reading now. Walk the dog. Clean the house. Wash the car. Do something productive. But under no circumstances allow yourself to get caught up in the tangled knot of lies, deceit, and narcissism I am about to lay down.   Until a week ago, I had no idea who Anna Delvey was or what her story was about. Then I saw the banner advertising a new series on Netflix, “Inventing Anna.” The synopsis – a journalist chases down the story of Anna Delvey, who convinced New York’s elite she was a German heiress – did not interest me all that much. But it starred Julia Garner, and I was a little curious to see how she would handle a role 180 degrees from her iconic Ruth Langmore character on “Ozark.” Ten hours of my life later, I know more (and less) about Anna Delvey than I ever cared to.   Well written and produced, the nine-episode limited series is like a roller coaster ride, as a continuous string of n

Ford Motor Company recently announced they are suspending orders for their Maverick (A) compact truck because they have outsold the company's capacity to manufacture them. The Maverick is an anomaly in today's pickup truck market, where bigger is better, and even bigger is even better. My "midsize" Toyota Tacoma is as large as many full-size pickups from the early 2000s. A new full-size F-150 or Silverado wouldn't have looked out of place at a monster truck show in the '70s.  The major truck manufacturers justify their increasingly enormous vehicles by claiming "no market" for smaller trucks. The success of the Maverick, however, would seem to contradict that.  The Maverick is based on the Ford Escape compact SUV, and while it is slightly longer than the Escape, it is significantly smaller than any other pickup currently sold in the U.S. It does not have the towing capacity or off-road capabilities of larger trucks, but it should work just fine for t

If you watched the "big game" on Sunday, you know that the Los Angeles Rams scored a touchdown with less than two minutes to play to earn a come-from-behind win over the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a fitting end to arguably the most exciting NFL playoffs ever. It was undoubtedly a better finish than most of the Super Bowls of my youth, which were almost always blowouts. There was a stretch of games in the '80s and '90s where the only drama was whether the absurd margin of victory would exceed the previous year's. During much of that run, I watched the games at a party that was my boss's signature annual event. He always went out of his way to make it a fun time, even when the score was entirely out of hand by halftime; great food and drink, and prizes for things like the total points scored by quarter or the number of passing attempts by a particular QB. But when the party was over, I would always walk out into the frigid Ohio night and think, how will I get th

In his song “Too Soon To Tell,” Todd Snyder sings, “I can still take rejection, but it does get harder to do.” Whether it’s a job interview, choosing sides for kickball, or that cute girl at the school dance, we’ve all experienced rejection, but I have to agree with Todd; it seems like it digs a little deeper and is a little more challenging as we collect miles on the odometer.   I suspect that has to do with opportunity cost. As mentioned in my “Hall of Fame” column a couple of weeks ago, job-seeking, when I was 25, was a game of numbers. I applied for every job I was vaguely qualified for, and whatever rose to the surface stuck. If I interviewed with J. Crew, Graybar Electric or Abacus II (all of which I did, by the way) and struck out, well,  that was fine because I knew eventually I’d find something. These days, I have traveled so far down a relatively narrow path that only a handful of jobs open up each year, so each one is exponentially more important.  The same goes for personal

This Monday, February 7, 2022, at 11:15 AM, John will be the featured guest on the Hampton B. Allen Library Author Talks series. He will be discussing his new book, his career as a writer, and his life in rural North Carolina. This will be an online-only event on Facebook Live.   https://www.facebook.com/hbalibrary

Although I grew up a huge football fan and lived most of my early life just two hours from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I only managed to visit it once, and that was under "unconventional" circumstances. In February of 1989, I learned that the software company where I worked was being sold to Microsoft, and within a few weeks, I would be without a job. I did what any recent college grad with lots of bills to pay would do; replied to every newspaper help wanted ad for which I was even vaguely qualified. I got a bite from a Chicago-based company that stocked sporting goods stores with fishing tackle. The title was Regional Sales Representative, but the job was to drive around with a van full of fishing equipment and keep the shelves filled with the latest gear.  I could certainly think of worse ways to make a living, so I was excited when the company contacted me about an interview. The catch was that it was scheduled for early Saturday morning at a meeting room near the Akro